Bradbury

J(la) “[T]he great principles of the Constitution which secure freedom of expression . . . preclude attaching adverse consequences to any except the knowing or reckless falsehood. Debate on public issues will not be uninhibited if the speaker must run the risk that it will be proved in court that he spoke out of hatred; even if he did speak out of hatred, utterances honestly believed contribute to the free interchange of ideas and the ascertainment of truth.” (Garrison v. Louisiana (1964) 379 U.S. 64, 73 [ 13 L.Ed.2d 125, 132 , 85 S.Ct. 209 ].) Here utterances by a district attorney on a matter of public interest, even if erroneous, promote the goals of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution (First Amendment), i.e., the free interchange of ideas and the ascertainment of truth. To further this goal, we hold that Code of Civil Procedure section 425.16, enacted to curtail SLAPP suits (strategic lawsuits against public participation), applies to a governmental entity and its representatives who are sued for their written and verbal comments concerning an official investigation. Thus, here it is the marketplace of ideas, not the tort system, by which our society…